'Ashley is a girl's name, too.'
by Diamond-Danielle
Summary: The Wilkerson's get an Australian exchange student - and it's a girl! Please R&R - My FIRST FIC - EVER! Please, be gentle!
1. 'Ashley is a girl's name, too.'

'Malcolm! Malcolm, for god's sake get out here!' Lois screamed from the driveway. The rest of the family was already sitting in the car, Hal at the wheel. Malcolm slammed the door as he ran out of it. He piled into the back with Dewey and Reese.

'_Why _did we have to get an exchange student, Mom?' Reese asked, pressed against one side of the car. 

'Because hopefully they will be a good influence on you boys, and it will be an experience you'll never forget.' Lois answered quickly, as if she had it planned.

'_Right_.' Reese rolled his eyes. 

'Mom's right, Reese. He's from Australia – it could be interesting. You don't know anything about Australia, do you, Reese?' Malcolm asked, imperatively. Of course, he knew some things about the country, being the genius he was.

'I know they have koala bears!' Dewey exclaimed, proudly. 

'Very smart, Dewey!' Malcolm rolled his eyes. That had to be the most obvious fact.

'And they've got the Crocodile Man!' Reese piped in, pretending to wrestle 'crocodile Dewey'. 

__

Great, thought Malcolm, _this is going to be a **long **drive_.

'Alright. QANTAS flight 423 from Sydney. Gate 9.' Hal looked at the piece of paper that had all the information on it. The details of the exchange student's flight were written in bold red writing, so they wouldn't get confused and miss their arrival.

'What's his name again?' Reese asked, gazing around the airport.

'Ashley Downe.' Lois replied, looking at the paper over Hal's shoulder. 

'Oh. Right.' Reese said absentmindedly, more interested in the people of the airport.

'Over here.' Malcolm pointed to gate 9. 

'Good. We're just in time. They're getting out right now.' Lois pulled out a sign that had 'ASHLEY DOWNE' written in bold, large letters. They watched people steadily flow out from the gate and waited anxiously for Ashley. Distracted, they almost didn't notice a young girl, about 13, appear in front of them.

'Hi.' She smiled, her eyes covered by white-framed sunglasses.

'Can I help you?' Malcolm asked, still looking around.

'Well, uh, I think so. I'm Ashley.' She pushed up the sunglasses. Malcolm stared blankly at her. 

'Ashley Downe. My name's on your sign.' She pointed to the cardboard. Malcolm tugged on his mom's sleeve and pointed at Ashley.

'She's… him!' He gasped. 

'Him?' Ashley asked, shifting her carry bag from side to side. Lois was now staring. 

'Oh. We thought… we thought you were a… boy.' Lois said simply. Reese, Hal and Dewey stared at her, jaws gaping. 

'Oh. Right. Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not. Ashley is a girls' name, too. You _are _the Wilkerson's – right?' Ashley asked, her Australian accent strong.

'Yes. Well, then. Hello, Ashley. I'm Hal.' Hal shook her hand. Then Lois shook her hand. Then Dewey. Then Reese. 

And finally, Malcolm.

'Uh. Hi. I'm Malcolm.' He mumbled almost incoherently. Of course, he had been so stupid. Ashley was a girls' name too.

'Hi Malcolm. Uh, I'm Ashley. Obviously.' Ashley smiled.

'Obviously.' Malcolm repeated, but not in a mocking way. 

'Malcolm – help Ashley with her bag, will you?' Lois handed a heavy suitcase to Malcolm and he accepted it, still stunned by the fact that a _girl _would be spending two months with them. 


	2. 'Did you bring presents?'

'So, Ashley, tell us a little bit about yourself.' Lois, Hal, the boys and Ashley were now comfortably in the car. Well, Hal and Lois were. Reese, Malcolm, Dewey and Ashley were squished in the back seat together. Ashley had the privilege of having a seat to herself – next to the window. Dewey, Malcolm and Reese were squeezed together in the other two seats. 

'Well, I'm 13. I live on the Gold Coast – which is in Queensland, Australia. I'm in the eighth grade. Umm…' Ashley tried to think what else to say. 

'Did you bring presents?' Dewey asked innocently. He was sitting next to Ashley and had been rather quiet. Lois, Hal and Malcolm all added their disapproval. Ashley laughed and smiled at Dewey.

'I did. But I'm not sure who to give which presents – is it alright if I give them to you tonight, so I have a little time to figure out who'd like what best?' Ashley asked Dewey specifically. 

'Ok.' Dewey said contentedly. It meant waiting a little longer, but it would hopefully result in the best present. 

Reese had a devilish glint in his eyes.

'Say, do you happen to have one of those returning boomerangs? You know, the ones that come back and chop someone's head off?' Reese asked enthusiastically. Ashley laughed again.

'I'm not sure if they do that, but I have a few Aboriginal things I thought you might find interesting.' Ashley found the over-sensationalizing of the simple boomerang amusing. 

'Anyway. Tell us about Australia.' Lois tried to divert the attention away from her sons.

'Yeah, what about those little furry things – ones that climb trees?' Reese searched for the word.

'Koala bear?' Malcolm ventured.

'Well, actually, they're not bears. Just Koalas. No bear on the end.' Ashley corrected gently.

'Oh. Sure.' Malcolm shrugged. 

'They're marsupials. Like kangaroos.' Ashley nodded.

'Those jumping things?' Dewey asked, tilting his head. 

'Yep. They hop, using their tail.' Ashley smiled at Dewey, who promptly smiled back. Malcolm watched her with interest. She seemed smart, nice and sweet. 

But, of course, there was always more to people on the inside.

She glanced up and noticed Malcolm. She smiled nervously and tucked a strand of stray hair behind her ear self-consciously. She looked out the window of the car and squeaked in a high pitched voice.

'A squirrel!' She squealed excitedly. Everyone looked at her strangely. How could she be so excited about seeing a squirrel?

'Sorry – I've never seen one before.' She apologized, blushing.

'No need to apologize. If I saw a koala or a kangaroo, I'd probably have the same reaction. Except I wouldn't squeal.' Malcolm said consolingly.

'Yeah, right.' Reese sniggered. Malcolm chose to ignore that. He wasn't going to let his stupid older brother make a fool of him in front of Ashley. 

Ashley smiled her thanks to Malcolm and stared out the window again. Hal and Lois began to talk between themselves about stuff of no importance to Malcolm. Dewey and Reese were arguing about something to do with food, and Malcolm found himself staring out the same window as Ashley. 

They spent the rest of the drive home in a polite question-and-answer session. Malcolm pointed out a few things while driving that seemed to please Ashley. She was amused and amazed by things they took for granted because they were so usual to them.

After all, to Ashley, America was a whole different country, and you couldn't get there by bus. (A/N: Don't worry about 'getting' this line – I don't think anyone will! Little inside joke between the viewers of a little Aussie show called 'Rove [LIVE]')

**Hi! Thanks for taking the time to read these chapters! I'll update them very soon. Please leave some reviews, 'coz I need some creative criticism – or just a comment! Thanks!**


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